Chapter 289
Chapter 289
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 289
Chapter Title: All Sorts of Variables (3)
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The true origin stories of these objects are shrouded in mystery.
Only the names of the items have been passed down, allowing people to weave their own tales of imagination.
However, *The Last Scream of the Jaeger Family* is unique in that an actual record of it remains.
Not long after acquiring the mansion, the merchant who purchased it discovered the ability of the 287 beads.
When carrying one, the girl's warning would be heard the moment one encountered killing intent. It was an alarm so sensitive that it was impossible to evade even the restrained killing intent of a supreme master.
The merchant sold it at auction and became the wealthiest man on the continent. The 287 objects fell into the hands of the powerful in various nations, and it is estimated that only about 82 remain today.
‘That's right.’
This was the story Zenoger had heard during his assassination training.
That was why the current situation was all the more bizarre.
It was impossible for Shirone to possess an item that was unobtainable by anyone less than the highest-ranking nobles or royalty of a nation.
“That… where did you get it? Your life doesn't seem valuable enough.”
Shirone hurriedly got to his feet and assumed a fighting stance.
“Who are you? What were you trying to do to me?”
Zenoger waved his hand in the air without answering.
Threads tangled together, forming a visible white skein that wrapped around his wrist. He attached one end to the ceiling and pulled, and his body shot upwards at high speed.
Shirone cast Teleportation. But Zenoger had already vanished completely from his sight.
He was an incredible master. At least, from Shirone’s perspective.
Zenoger moved along the walls, chasing Shirone.
He was a target that could be eliminated with over a ninety percent certainty using standard hitman methods anyway. More importantly, since there would be no more *Last Scream of the Jaeger Family*, the fact that Shirone would die remained unchanged.
Shirone couldn't escape.
Zenoger’s killing intent, which he had somehow concealed until now, was suffocating.
Moreover, the source of the killing intent wasn't from a single location. It meant he was disrupting the Spirit Zone’s synesthesia at an incredible speed.
‘I'll die at this rate!’
In this life-or-death situation, Shirone gave up on fleeing. Instead, he lowered his fists and cast Wild Burst with all his might.
*CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK-BOOM!*
The underground walls shook, and dust rained down.
“Kekeke! Magic, it's magic.”
There was no profession in the world that looked down on mages, but the assassin clan Spartur had a manual for dealing with every situation.
When Zenoger puckered his lips, a steel wire made of twisted spider silk shot out. The wire pierced straight through the Wild Burst and impaled Shirone’s shoulder.
“Keuk!”
Shirone hastily pulled out the thread and rolled on the floor. It wasn't a fatal wound, but that single blow made him acutely aware of the difference in their skill.
Expansion-type defensive magic like Wild Burst boasted a wide area of defense but was inevitably weak to localized penetration.
This was a master on a level that could see through a magic's weakness and counter it instantly. His speed of thought probably far surpassed Shirone's.
Zenoger, who had been staying out of Shirone's sight, dropped down. He landed with both hands on the ground, a perfect spider.
Zenoger’s tongue darted out, long and thin, and licked his entire face.
“Kiki, a good reaction. I was aiming for your heart, but you dodged. A brat like you is just my type. I'd love to tie you up in my web and give you lots of affection, but…”
Shirone shivered at the chilling feeling.
“I'm a busy man.”
When Zenoger vanished from sight faster than before, Shirone fell into a state of indecision.
Mages could produce powerful effects that transcended human common sense, but in one-on-one combat, it was true that they had difficulty against those who had pushed their physical abilities to the limit.
Zenoger was a master unlike any he had ever seen; trying to fight him from the start had been a miscalculation.
Shirone turned completely and cast Teleportation.
If escape was impossible and fighting was too difficult, the only option left was to hide and bide his time.
A flash of light bounced off the walls and entered the food pantry. The space was enormous, enough to feed the several hundred members of the royal castle, and was divided into sections for different types of food.
Shirone leaned his back against a wall of flour sacks and hid. He hadn't even been casting magic for long, but he was already out of breath.
‘Where would he be aiming for? The ceiling? Behind the sacks? Or the opposite section?’
Shirone’s eyes darted around, trying to find a trace of Zenoger.
But in reality, Zenoger was stuck to the ceiling in a corner of the warehouse, far from where Shirone was expecting.
‘Kikiki, foolish. To think common sense would apply to someone with camouflage abilities.’
Zenoger’s eight eyes locked precisely onto Shirone.
@
Borrowing the power of the Diamond Armament, Zion's combat prowess was equivalent to that of a certified swordsmanship master. He was unleashing a flurry of sharp attacks, leaving Amy no room to cast Teleportation.
Seeing Amy's pale face, Zion felt a little better. The Armand, considered an S-class object even among dealers, was certainly living up to its value.
Effort did not suit royalty. Of course, neither did talent. The reason royalty was noble was purely due to their bloodline; with that bloodline, they could simply purchase effort and talent.
“Still, you’re holding on quite well.”
He certainly hadn't expected the fight to last this long. He thought she was just a weak mage, but her movements were as agile as a swordsman's.
“Hmph, you’ve been preparing thoroughly since you were young, have you? That makes it even more pathetic. To be beaten by me, who has learned neither magic nor swordsmanship.”
“Stop spouting nonsense! I’ll never lose to a bastard like you who relies only on his weapon!”
Amy gritted her teeth and charged at Zion.
She was so furious she could cry. This was the result of ten years of training without missing a single day. A man who had never known a day of hardship in his life couldn't possibly defeat her just by wielding a magic sword.
Amy utilized her Schema ability to its maximum, employing diversionary tactics. But in response, the Armand also altered Zion's constitution.
—Detecting change in target entity acceleration. Removing retinal afterimage. Maximizing visual cognitive ability.
Afterimages occur because the human brain retains an image for a tenth of a second after seeing it.
But once the Armand eliminated the retinal afterimage, Amy’s movements became sharp and distinct, as if they were stuttering.
Zion stood still for a moment, then suddenly launched himself forward. The sword attached to his gauntlet sliced through the air, grazing the collar of Amy’s clothes.
Zion was not a Schema user. But the Diamond Armament's body-tuning ability perfectly replicated the effects of Schema.
‘No. I can never accept this!’
Amy bit her lip.
To evade Zion's gaze, she needed speed that surpassed his cognitive abilities. But her Schema was not at that level.
‘In that case…’
Amy entered the Spirit Zone.
She didn't know how effective magic would be in such a confined space against an agile warrior with a close-range weapon, but if a direct approach didn't work, she had no chance of survival.
‘Take this!’
Amy scattered fireballs in all directions. It was a tactic to restrict his movement by saturation rather than targeting.
‘Tch! Annoying.’
Zion abandoned his charge and retreated.
There were many objects in the gallery. As long as he had the Armand, the others didn't matter, but the problem was that most of them belonged to Uorin.
‘I have to save the objects, at least.’
Reading Zion’s emotions, the Armand extended its tentacles in all directions.
As the tentacles stuck to the walls, Zion’s body floated into the air.
Tension built, and Zion's body flew like an insect. He swung his sword at an incredible speed, splitting the fireballs in two.
Amy snorted.
‘Hmph, you think that can stop it?’
Even if the form changed, the heat remained.
As expected, the flames engulfed Zion, and the organic matter of the Armand began to combust.
But the charred, hardened surface flaked off, replaced by new organic matter.
Self-regeneration was the strength of living creatures. The reason the was S-class was that it possessed the advantages of both metal and living organisms.
Having blocked the fireballs, Zion hovered in the air, looking down at Amy.
“You have a surprisingly fiery personality. But you won't be able to run wild any longer.”
Amy retreated and surrounded herself with a Fire Mist. It wouldn't turn the tide of battle, but there was nothing better than heat to deter a living creature from approaching.
“Hmph, you're really thrashing about.”
Amy knew it too. The fact that all she could do was improvise was miserable.
But her opponent’s movements were unpredictable, and in this confined space, even her specialty, Sniper Mode, was impossible.
However, the reason she hadn't given up was that she saw a glimmer of hope. For some reason, Zion was clearly moving in a way that suggested he didn't want the objects in the room to be destroyed.
‘They don't even look that expensive.’
Though she had her doubts, it was the only opening in the current situation. As an experiment, Amy blatantly fired a Fire Strike at a display case.
As expected, Zion lunged. A tentacle shot out from over his shoulder and blocked the path of the Fire Strike.
With a bang, the tip of the tentacle was scorched.
Amy, who had intended to sever the tentacle, clicked her tongue at its surprisingly strong durability.
But her magic was just getting started. She rotated her targeting-type Spirit Zone and unleashed Fire Strikes in all directions.
Zion swung his tentacles, blocking them repeatedly, but even the Armand's durability had its limits.
‘Hmph! Then I'll just capture the mage!’
A single tentacle shot out and pressed against the nape of Amy’s neck, slamming her backward. Her head hit the wall, and her mind wavered for a moment, but she activated Red Eyes and immediately reset it.
“Keuk, you think you can stop me with just this…”
At that moment, a sharp needle shot out from the tentacle and pierced her neck. Her Spirit Zone vanished, and the magic dissipated.
Zion listened to the Armand's voice as he descended to the floor.
—Extracting user's pituitary hormones. Synthesizing. Manufacturing neuro-stabilizing substance. Complete. Injecting.
The human body was like a giant chemical factory. The Armand had extracted hormones from Zion's body to create its own unique neuro-stabilizing substance.
Amy couldn't hold onto her fading consciousness.
‘Damn it…! What kind of sword is this?’
She tried to activate Red Eyes, but the endless flood of the neuro-stabilizer prevented her from mustering the concentration to form a Spirit Zone. Instead, more chemicals flooded in, poisoning her liver.
“Huhu, a mage is finished once you mess with their mind. Both you and Shirone. What's so great about that magic of yours that makes you so arrogant?”
Amy gasped for breath, staring up at the ceiling. Her eyes rolled back on their own, making it difficult to look down.
“It must be hard. Why not just pass out? In the meantime, I'll have plenty of fun with your body. Of course, don't expect to wake up with all your limbs intact.”
“Kuk! Keuk…!”
Amy resisted with all her might.
“Hahaha! Your struggles are quite a sight to behold. Do you understand now? What happens when you mess with royalty.”
Amy squeezed out a final ounce of strength and activated Red Eyes.
“Are you so sure?”
Zion scoffed. He knew she couldn't enter the Spirit Zone anyway.
But the next moment, something surprising happened. A ball of fire ignited above Amy’s hand.
Before Zion could process what was happening, Amy hurled the flame toward a shelf.
“Damn it! Block it!”
As Zion's consciousness focused on the shelf, the Armand retracted its tentacles and flung its master's body backward.
Just before the display case exploded, Zion managed to get in front of it. He braced for the intense heat and held his breath, but the ball of fire vanished before his eyes.
“Wh-what?”
It was the phony flame of a Jack-o'-lantern. Spirits possessed their own Spirit Zones, so it could be cast regardless of Amy's mental state.